Brash Bebop and Bickering Blues
by Spiegelmeister
Summary: It's been a day since Spike left the Bebop. How is the remaining crew handling it, and what's their perspective on the matter? Meant as a sort of continuation/ session 26.5 to the end of the series.
1. Chapter 1

_**To be honest, this was created many years ago; back in mid 2011. At the time, I had a lot more time on my hands, I had just begun my foray into this strange medium called Anime, and my mindset was in a totally different place from where it is nowadays. I had always planned to post this here, and figured I could continue a great story with one of my own, but alas, it was sidelined. Hard. Now that I've gotten back around to writing once again, I figured I'd at least leave this here, as if nothing else, a timepiece of my own writing and as a tidbit for those of you fans to either enjoy or hate me for. It's been created; someone might as well read it. ;)**_

 _ **That said, no, I probably won't ever finish or continue this. If you hate unfinished things, then you probably didn't care for the ending in Bebop anyway, so maybe I'm safe. On the other hand, I did cut out the third half-finished chapter of this so it works much better as a one-shot with a firmer ending place. Thusly, you have been warned.**_

* * *

 **Session 1: Stardust Serenade in the Semblance of Solitude**

It was a particularly starry night tonight, and Faye sat on the cold floor of the captain's deck of the Bebop staring out at it, her legs splayed out before her and a cigarette perched in her lips. The half empty pack lay beside her in the dark chilly room and just above the quiet hum of the Bebop she could hear footsteps wandering around before they started climbing up the stairs to the deck; their owner no doubt looking for her.

As Jet made it to the top, he stopped to scan the room, a look of worry painted on his face. When he didn't find what he was looking for, he let out a groveling moan; scratching the back of his neck as he did so. He turned to leave, his heavy boots clanking on the metal floors once more before a glimpse of yellow caught his eye in the reflection of the glass. Letting a small noise of curiosity pass his lips, he paused to focus further, the faint figure of who he was looking for just barely making itself present.

"There you are…" he let out wearily, but suddenly found himself wishing he hadn't said anything. Wishing he hadn't stopped, but pretended she wasn't there, and just headed back to his room at least knowing she was still around. He knew she wanted to be alone, knew there was a _reason_ she made herself hard to find, and here he was, interrupting it with a stupid comment.

 _Nice going Captain Obvious._

"Yeah…" Faye mused from her seat, a slight hint of defeat in her tone at being found. "Here I _am_ …" Slowly she leaned her head back against the console once again, closing her eyes. "But for how long, Jet... How long? I can't keep doing this."

With eyes still closed, she patiently waited to hear something. An answer, perhaps; maybe a sigh or some sort of movement.

Jet's mind however, was battling itself over what to say as he stood in silence at the top of the steps. Part of him almost wanted to just leave right then and there and avoid that question altogether. Part of him didn't want to give an answer, afraid of what it would imply.

"Listen… Faye-" He absentmindedly took a step forward, the loud clank of metal against metal ringing loudly in the silence.

Faye reached to her mouth; eyes still closed, and grabbed what was left of her cigarette to put it out on the floor beside her. She exhaled a slow stream of smoke as she waited for him to collect his thoughts.

A few moments passed, and Faye opened her eyes in curiosity at the sound of more footsteps, watching his reflection grow closer before it slumped down in the seat behind her. At the soft plop, she suddenly realized she had tensed up. Right now her personal bubble covered pretty much the entire room, and the thought of him settling into it had her on edge. That or it was the feeling she got that he was breathing down her neck simply by sitting behind her. Either way, she immediately regretted not telling him off when she had had the chance.

 _It's his ship though; I shouldn't be able to just kick him out of any room I want._

"Stupid lunkhead" she muttered under her breath, and took her focus off his weary figure to gaze at the stars once more. She could feel the tiredness finally getting to her after a sleepless night the night before. All that weight was finally starting to settle down in her chest now that it had been a full day with no sight of him, but she was going to fight it as long as she could.

Jet took a deep breath, his chest rising as he wound his hands behind his head for support, watching her body language through the reflection. "It was his story Faye. He needed to see it through to the end; loose ends and everything." He said matter-of-factly, watching her body tense up even more at his voice. "He had questions to be answered like you had your own. No one could have stopped him. No one _should_ have stopped him. His past finally caught up to him, and in a bad way; he wasn't about to just let it go-"

"Of course he wasn't!" she suddenly snapped at the larger bounty hunter, already halfway to her feet with a glare turned to meet him with the full force of its fury. "But he's a fucking dumbass! A cocky, ignorant, son-of-a-bitch that doesn't know when to think things through before getting himself _killed_!"

Jet blinked, suddenly afraid of the volatile mess he had just walked himself into.

 _Yep. Should've just left her alone._

"He never cared about any of us, Jet! All this was to him was a way to pass time and hone his skills for some… some final duke out with an old enemy over some… _woman_ he hasn't seen for… for… for _three_ years!" She was tripping over her own words in anger, and she knew it, but she couldn't hold back. She didn't want to.

"Hey now, that isn't true." Jet firmly countered, rising from his seat.

"Isn't it though?" Faye shrieked, her glinting green eyes trying to sear it into his brain. "Did Spike ever _care_ about you Jet? Did he ever stop and _listen_ to you? Follow your advice? No. He went out and did whatever the _hell_ he wanted even if you threatened to kick him off the Bebop for good! He made messes and expected _you_ to pick up after them. He expected _you_ to fix his mistakes; to give him a home and food for what? For an attitude of a hot headed eight year old? A personality as tough as fucking nails? For utter disrespe-"

"FAYE!" Jet sharply warned over her rant, his own anger now clearly showing through his features, his jaw clenched and fists curled tight. "A lot of those traits could apply to you as well. So I _don't_ want to hear it. _Not_ from you." His glare deepened as their little stare-off intensified.

"I've been looking for you to see if you were alright or even still _on_ this god damn ship. But if you're just going to bitch, I suggest you walk your surly little ass out that door and find someone else to bitch at, because I'm in no mood for it." He pointed across the gap of the stairwell to the room's main exit; firmly standing his ground.

Faye seethed as her eyes trailed from his glare down his arm to the door and back again. " _Fine_!" She humphed, then bent down to quickly snatch up the pack of cigarettes at her feet before storming towards the door. Good. She could take her personal bubble elsewhere.

Jet almost relaxed some, slightly caught off guard by her sudden obedience. It wasn't like her to just give up that easily, especially not without some witty remark.

 _Maybe I pushed it too far this time. Maybe she really is leaving for good_.

She stormed by his statue-still frame but then hovered a few feet behind him before turning her head to look back. "How are _you_ doing, Jet?" she jeered through gritted teeth. "Mad you couldn't back him up? Or angry because you thought he cared too. Admit it. Without him, you're just an old man with an old ship. No money, no bounties, but hey, _no_ troubles right?"

The tone alone at the end made it that much more of an insult, and he found himself straining not to turn around to look at her; not to run after her and beat her to a pulp for calling him a worthless old man. Instead, he let out an angry "Out!" before letting her go on her own free will, simply listening to her heels slowly click away towards the exit behind his back. He waited for her to close the door before finally allowing himself to release his restraints.

"DAMNIT!" He slammed his metal fist into a part of the console, heavily denting the metal, and most likely destroying something important inside. He didn't care though. She was right, and he knew it, but it still didn't make him hate her any less for saying it. What made it worse was he had just destroyed the last remnants of his family or team or way of life or whatever the hell you called it that he had known for the past few years. All because he didn't know better than to leave her alone, and because she just happened to be an obnoxious shrew of a woman.

"Fuck _you_ Faye,… fuck _you._ "

* * *

 ** _It's one of those nights tonight._**

 ** _Filled with regrets;_**

 ** _Layered with convictions._**

 ** _It's one clouded mess;_**

 ** _A surge of blended emotions._**

 ** _Yet someone, somewhere, is pleading with hope._**

 ** _Hope that none of it really happened;_**

 ** _That it's all just a bad dream._**

"Damn it." Faye murmured into the breeze from atop one of the arms of her Red Tail.

She had made it all the way to the hangar without any hesitation. She had opened the hangar door without a second thought. She had even climbed into her ship and shoved the key in the ignition without any pause, as if she'd been itching to flee for days now. But the moment she turned the engines over, she couldn't bring herself to actually take off and leave. Not this time.

So instead, she shut off the Red Tail and climbed up to gaze at the stars once more from her new found perch atop the ship. The breeze that filled the hangar was a bit cool, but she didn't care for the moment. It was quiet, she was alone, and she could keep an eye on the sky. That's all she could really ask for at this moment.

After a bit, she fished out the pack of cigarettes from earlier and drew one out, putting it to her lips before stashing the pack back and searching for her lighter. Having fished it out, she cupped her hand around the cigarette and flicked the lighter to life, squinting at the sudden light, but relishing it's warmth before taking a drag. The familiar taste and smell was welcome as she held it in and tried to soothe her mind. Just outside the door, the sound of waves splashing alongside the Bebop desperately tried to remind her of some sense of time with their rhythm, and she exhaled a lazy cloud of smoke into the night.

 _Of all the times, now is when I can't take the jump and run…_

"It's all your fault, Spike." She whispered for nobody to hear. She glanced over to where the Swordfish should have been, then back to the stars. It was like she was still waiting. Waiting for some freak chance that he'd return, and until she knew for certain he wasn't coming back, she couldn't leave. Couldn't just abandon the Bebop; or him for that matter without making sure she said it to his face. He needed to be there, attitude and all with the Swordfish tucked away in the hangar before she could leave.

He was the only reason _to_ leave anymore.

With a sigh Faye laid back, resting her body against the cool metal of the Red Tail's arm before adjusting her head to a more comfortable position on the hard surface. She took a long drag from her cigarette, allowing her eyelids to slide shut solemnly. It had finally happened. Her fears proved to be right after all.

" _You were just afraid they'd abandon you; so you abandoned them._ You distanced yourself from the whole thing..." She vaguely remembered the familiar voice echoing in her head. Yet here she was, back on the Bebop. Alone and abandoned.

She took one last drag, then flicked the last of her cigarette blindly towards the hangar door, her eyes still closed.

 _"_ Yeah…" she joked with the voice out loud before continuing in her head.

 _And all the good ones take you in selfishly, take care of you for a little while, then turn their backs on you and head off to die…_

Memories of old and new mixed as they flooded back, and suddenly the weight was crushing her. She couldn't stand to fend it off on her own much longer. Lying there on the cold metal of the Red Tail, her chest gradually rose and fell a few more times until she had no choice but to finally give in.

The hangar was dark, and mostly silent apart from the soft ambient noises of the ship and the world outside, but for anyone privileged enough to have gotten close enough to see in the faint starlight, they would have seen the small pools that had formed under Faye's eyes, and the single small tear that broke free to slide down her cheek.

* * *

 _ **Let me know your thoughts guys (and gals). The next chapter gets a bit... experimental in the early stages, so I figure this is a good stopping point both to break it up and give a chance for reviews on two sorts of writing. Beyond is a chaotic trichotic of an almost psychotic dream. :)**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Session 1.5: Dreadful Dichotic Diversions of a Dreaming Damsel**

"Where ya going?"

 _"_ _Why_ are you going?"

He looked more annoyed than surprised or worried that she had a gun in his face, and it made her sick; he knew she wouldn't hurt him, and he was going to leave no matter what she was about to say.

* * *

Why are you going to see Vicious? Didn't you just say he framed you?

I want to see if he really did.

You're going to die.

* * *

"You told me once to forget the past; 'cuz it doesn't matter. But you're the one still tied to the past, Spike."

 ** _You drove me,_**

 ** _Nearly drove me, out of my head._**

 ** _While you never shed a tear._**

 _Look at my eyes Faye._

She didn't want to look. She didn't want to hear what he was going to say, but she was scared. Scared how suddenly close he was. Scared at how set and determined his face was when he leaned over her. She was too caught up in fear to look away or close her eyes. All she could do was look up from one mismatched eye to the other, wondering how all this time she had never noticed. It was unnerving. Like he was staring straight into her soul; and yet it wasn't out of love or curiosity. It was as if he were trying to implant what he had to say into her; as if it was supposed to make her believe the lame excuse he had for running off on a suicide mission.

 _One of them is a fake because I lost it in an accident. Since then I've been seeing the past in one eye, and the present in the other. So I thought I could only see patches of reality; never the whole picture._

 ** _Remember?_**

 ** _I remember all that you said._**

* * *

I'm not afraid to die.

You're lying.

* * *

Why? Why was he telling her? Why did he have to wait until his last moments to let her in on his personal life?

 _I felt like I was watching a dream I'd never wake up from._

His lips were curling into a smile now, she realized. Was this all a joke to him? Did she really mean nothing to him after all they had been through?

 _But before I knew it, the dream was all over._

* * *

Either way, I won't last much longer.

* * *

 ** _You told me love was too plebian,_**

Julia… That's all that ever mattered to him. That's all he ever cared about. She was dead, and now a part of him was dead to. He saw no reason to live, so he was going off to die on a mission to kill the one person who was responsible.

Her anger was turning to grief, and by now her tough exterior had all but broken down. She had one last chance to keep him from going. She had to show him at least _she_ cared about his life even if he didn't, despite how often it seemed to the contrary. Pity was the only card she had left in the deck up her sleeve, and he was already taking a few steps down the hallway.

 ** _You told me you were through with me, and-…_**

"My… memory… finally came back. But nothing good came of it. There was no place for me to return to… this was the only place I could go… And now you're leaving; just like that."

 **Now you say you love me.**

Silence claimed the hallway, and she was starting to lose it. The warmth in her cheeks and the tickle in the bridge of her nose were only reminders of just how little time she had left to hold back. How little time she had to keep her dignity up and not break down crying in front of him.

* * *

"Why did you bring me here?"

* * *

"Why do you have to go? Where are you _going_? What are you going to do? Just throw your life away like it was _nothing_?" Her voice was cracking and what little anger she mustered towards the end was forced as she turned to his back.

 **Well, just to prove that you do.**

He didn't even bother to face her.

* * *

Maybe I wanted to be with someone… I- I don't know…

* * *

 _I'm not going there to die. I'm going to find out if I'm really alive. I_ have _to do it Faye._

 **C'mon and cry me a river…**

Deep down she could hear in his voice he didn't want to go, but his thick-headed mind was made up. She could barely raise her gun even with the spike of anger that flowed through her. If he wanted to die, she'd be the one to do the deed for him. But she couldn't bring herself to it; her hand was so shaky that she couldn't possibly promise an accurate shot even if she tried. And if she injured him, he'd never forgive her before it healed up and he just headed off again. All she could do was raise her gun up and hope the sound alone could stop him in his tracks. But even as she squeezed off shot after shot, he continued on down the hallway unflinchingly; as if she really _wasn't_ there and the bullets flying his way hadn't even made a sound.

 **Cry me a river…**

Before she knew it, he had faded away… like a ghost that was never really there; a figment of her imagination that had never cared about her or Jet or _anyone_ on the Bebop. _Was_ it all a dream? No. It couldn't be. He was just a fallen angel that looked after them when he didn't have personal business to attend to.

 _'But if it was,'_ she wondered, ' _is he fading from mine, or am I the one being discarded from his?_ '

 **'Cause I cried a river over you.**

Her mind faded to a battle-worn Spike standing in a small pool of blood in the middle of a room, bleeding from god knows where. Surrounding him were syndicate guards leveling their various machine guns and pistols in his direction, Vicious standing from a balcony above smiling his cold smile. Spike held his own cocky smile, a grenade with the pin pulled in one hand, and his Jericho aimed at the cold blooded madman in the other. There was no way he could win this time; not with his life at any rate, but he was going to make sure he'd go out in typical Spike style once his objective was complete…

With a bang.

The silence that hung in the air was so thick, not even a breath could be heard as everyone held their positions in the stalemate. It seemed like her mind was stuck in a freeze frame until she noticed Spikes lips mouthing off inaudible words. That's when a single gunshot rang out; the sound no doubt Spikes Jericho, followed by a slew of gunfire that erupted around him. She didn't even watch Vicious to see if he went down or not. All she saw was the grenade drop from Spike's hand and clink along the blood-soaked floor, its sound suddenly the only one heard despite the continuous pattering of gunfire. As it rolled to a rest a few seconds later, a bright orange light filled her vision as it exploded.

* * *

Faye awoke with a start, almost falling off the Red Tail before regaining her balance on top of the ship once more. Confused and slightly jumpy after the shot of adrenaline, she searched the hangar to gain her bearings in the low light.

 _Huh. Must've dozed off._

Outside the hangar door, the sky greeted her with an orange hue, signifying the morning of a new day on Mars.

Either she had been sweating or the morning's dew had clung to her skin because she felt damp, and it immediately made her feel like death sitting there in the hangar; nothing but cold metal and air surrounding her. Trying to bring some sort of warmth back to her body, she hugged her arms together and began to rub the clammy appendages absentmindedly, attempting to ignore the shiver that ran down her spine as she continued to look around.

 _Geez, it's freezing cold in here._

When her gaze reached the balcony inside the hangar, she found Jet hunched over the railing, watching her quietly from his spot with a blank expression.

"You're still here" he stated as her gaze met his, no real expression or tone in his voice.

Her brow creased slightly as she continued to watch him, both cold and slightly confused. Why was he standing there? Why was he watching her?

Slowly, a knowing look fell upon his face in the silence and he nodded slightly. "C'mon…" his brusque voice hithered. "I'm lifting this heap up to orbit." And with that, he turned around and walked through the door.

Faye's mind was still cloudy with sleep, so she decided to just shrug it off; allowing her body to go through the motions as she carefully made her way down from the top of her ship and strolled to the door. She briefly paused at a nearby console to close the hangar door before she continued to subconsciously follow his path back into the Bebop like a distracted child trailing an unwatchful parent.

As she worked her way to the control room, she passed her own room and paused. It took her a moment to realize what she was thinking before she reached for the door and twisted the switch to open it. Walking inside, the familiar smell greeted her and she began pondering her options. Should she throw on a better shirt? Nah, not enough. Her coat? It wouldn't warm up her legs. With a groan she bounced down on her bed, trying to remember if she actually had any pants.

"What I _really_ need is a warm shower." she moaned. But that was out of the question for now. If Jet was taking off, the Bebop would be too unstable to take a shower. With a sigh, she laid back on her bed, her hands feeling around before grabbing a fist full of her comforter in each hand. "Why Jet?" she began to whine as she wrapped it around her. "Why do we have to take off _now_?"

* * *

Faye strolled into the control room, her green comforter wrapped tightly around her frame. As she turned the corner she saw Jet at the control chair, typing away at his keyboard, getting things ready for takeoff. A moment later her eyes caught sight of the large dent in the metal console behind him. Drawing closer, she snaked a hand out from the comforter and traced the edges of it.

 _This wasn't here last night…_

"Here." Jet turned towards her, having realized her presence behind him. "I made you some coffee." He held out a mug of steamy black liquid, and there was a moment of hesitation before she finally took it from him. A small smirk grew on his face. "Figured it'd keep your mouth occupied long enough to keep our arguments to a minimum."

Faye raised an warning eyebrow at him, and after an awkward moment of stares and a clearing of his throat, he turned away, busying himself again with the controls. She gingerly raised the cup to her face, and allowed the steam to warm it some. Taking a small sip, she relished the warmth before replying. "Thanks." She cooed, inhaling some steam through her nostrils. "I needed something warm." Jet's fingers paused for a second before continuing their movements, leaving the two to be in their own worlds for the time being.

"So…" the bald bounty hunter offered, hoping to gauge just how lax Faye's personality was for the moment "what were you doing sleeping in the hangar; if you don't mind me asking?"

"I-…" Faye dragged her cloak of a comforter over to her seat from the night before and sat down with her coffee. "… I must've dozed off" she pondered. "Not sleeping for two days, y'know." She took another big sip of coffee and watched the Bebop turn to point towards an open path for takeoff.

"I see." The ship began to accelerate.

Faye watched the water beneath them fall away as more and more of the rust colored sky took up the windows of the Bebop.

"Still no word?" she asked as the rust started fading into blue.

"No word." Jet responded from behind her. "All I know is it's a mess down there and the ISSP are keeping a tight seal on things. When it comes to the Syndicates, things usually stay that way since no one wants to put their neck on the line for possibly releasing some sort of info the Syndicates don't want released." Faye bowed her head and took another sip of coffee, huddling in her comforter. She was finally starting to feel warm again.

"Don't you have people inside?"

Jet groaned. "I do Faye, but it's complicated alright? Not everyone can just snoop around or hack their way into any information they want." With that, she decided to quiet down. She still wasn't in any mood to argue, and Jet seemed like he was attempting to be nice; apparently not in the mood to argue either, but willing to if it came down to it.

Aside from the dull thrum of the Bebop's engines, the two sat in silence until Jet finally brought them to orbit. Blue had faded to black, and Faye took the last sip of her coffee.

"You never did tell me what happened to Ed" she posed, breaking the long silence between the two. "Just that she left while I was gone."

She heard a sigh escape from behind her and the engines slowly wind down. "There's not much else _to_ tell." Jet replied, staring off into the space ahead of them. "Ed used us to find her father with a fake bounty. Everything seemed fine and made sense except a few minutes later he ditched her again on some stupid quest to map all the craters caused by meteor strikes. She seemed to take it fairly well considering, but I just don't understand how you can do that to a child. Anyway, she came home with us that night, but then took off without a word; just a message of 'Bye Bye' and a goofy face painted on the deck. Apparently she gave Spike a pinwheel, but that's all I know." She heard him get up from his seat, and watched his reflection turn from the windows. "Ein disappeared that night as well."

Faye set her mug down beside her and began unwrapping the comforter from her body. "It's my fault." She muttered with a hung head.

"What's that?" He turned around to see what he could of the top of her head.

"All of it. It's all my fault, isn't it." She began folding the comforter to keep busy.

"Now hold on. How can it be your fault Faye?" Jet questioned uneasily from his position. "You weren't even around when the kid vanished."

"Before I left, I told her to find where she belonged. That it was the best thing in the world; belonging." Her folding continued. "I just hope it actually works out for her, unlike it did for me."

Jet scratched the back of his head. This was so un-Faye-like, he didn't know how to respond.

"I told her to leave Jet, and she listened." She stood up; the comforter neatly folded in her hands. "She listened, and she took Ein with her." She turned to face him, her green eyes falling to the floor. "And… Spike…" she tapered off. "If… I hadn't met Julia…they wouldn't have met. She'd probably still be alive and he-" Jet could tell she was beating herself up inside, but there was nothing he could do but listen. "It's _my_ fault the crew fell apart Jet. _My_ fault. The one thing I had left, and I tore it all apart."

He waited, trying to think of something to say. Something that would snap her out of it.

"You really _are_ a lucky woman, aren't you."

A small noise escaped from her lips, and her wide open eyes slowly began to narrow in his direction. "And just what's _that_ supposed to mean Jet?" He smiled.

 _That's more like the Faye I know._

"You never wanted the kid in the first place, and Spike always drove you halfway up a wall if you were even in the same room together. Heck, I'm not even sure you and Ein ever got along either, so really, this should be a dream come true for you, right?"

Her head backed away; out of what, he couldn't tell, but he did know he had struck something. Something she was unsure about herself. Her face settled into a glare once more and she headed for the door, a throaty mumble escaping her lips as she passed him. Something he thought he made out as "I'm taking a shower."

He groaned just out of earshot once he finally decided that's what she had said.

"Women. They never work on reason."

* * *

 _ **And that's probably a good ending point for something unfinished. It may have gotten a little confusing in the beginning, but when you're overlaying the conversations Faye had with Spike and Gren on top of the stylistic jazz choice of Cry Me a River, I suppose it's bound to. Let me know what you think as comments and critiques are always welcome to better myself as a writer. Hope you enjoyed it. :)**_


End file.
